Chapter 498: Breached
Ye Zhen followed Xia Yaohua and the others to the dicine storehouse. She wondered if she was mistaken. Not counting the dicinal herbs sent from the dicinal field this year, based on the number of dicinal herbs sent in the past, the store of the Huaijiang dical Bureau could not possibly only have such a small amount of herbs left, right?
"This is… Is this all the dicinal materials in the bureau?" Ye Zhen looked at the empty store, then at the most common dicinal herbs. These were the most worthless ordinary dicinal herbs. Most of them were antipyretics and detoxifiers. The dicinal herbs that had been sent from the dicinal field before were not even a shadow of what was available. These bags of dicinal herbs, compared to those sent by the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, were not even worth a fraction.
Xia Yaohua said in a low voice, “This is still good. When we first ca here, there wasn't even a blade of grass inside."
Ye Zhen took a deep breath. “Where are the dicinal herbs from the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard?"
When she was in the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard, she liked to visit the dicinal field, so she knew how many herbs the courtyard sent to the Huaijiang dical Bureau every year. Looking at this store now, she was at a loss for words.
"The people here said that the Imperial Court never delivered the dicines. The store has always been like this," Liu Yun whispered.
"Doesn't Imperial Physician Qi find nothing amiss?" Ye Zhen frowned. It seed that there was sothing wrong with the Huaijiang dical Bureau. She refused to believe that Imperial Physician Qi could not tell.
Xia Yaohua said, "How could Imperial Physician Qi not know? It's just… So what if she could tell? A letter was sent to the capital, but we are yet to receive a response. I just hope that nothing really happens. Otherwise, I don't know how to use this small amount of dicinal ingredients."
Ye Zhen walked into the store to take a look at the dicinal ingredients. It was fine if she hadn't looked at them, because once she did, she felt angry. “Where did this co from? How was this sent by the Imperial Physicians’ Courtyard? Did they send soone to the mountain to pick it up?"
"These are pretty good now. We've already carefully selected them, and have been drying them for a few days. When they first arrived, there were weeds inside," Liu Yun said.
"It seems that Huaijiang has soone who can cover the sky* ( fraudster)." Ye Zhen sneered. Even the dicinal ingredients sent by the Imperial Court they dared to embezzle, let alone the Disaster Silver.
[*To hide the truth from the masses]
"The dam broke! The dam is breaking!"
A sharp cry suddenly sounded from outside the dical bureau. A bolt of lightning in the sky seed to split open the heaven and earth. The rumbling thunder was louder than ever.
A startled Ye Zhen was hastily walked out.
The official residence next door had soldiers going in and out. The civilians who had been hiding in their hos from the rain had all co out to take a look.
"The dam has broken. Everyone, quickly go to a higher place."
"The dam has broken! The dam has broken!"
Huaijiang City, which was originally quiet, seed to wake up. The people started to move things to the attic.
Perhaps it was because the buildings in Huaijiang City were different from those in the capital, most of their houses were built with lofts. Now, most of the people were moving their precious things up high.
"Damn! Imperial Physician Qi and the others are still at the embanknt." Ye Zhen was anxious thinking of Huangfu Chen and Imperial Physician Qi. She wondered if they would be able to co back unscathed.
"Xue Lin, I'm going to find Master and Imperial Physician Qi," Ye Zhen said to Xue Lin, who had been guarding her all this ti.
"Your Highness, absolutely not! At the mont, there must be chaos outside the city. The dam collapsed, and this is no small matter. You cannot leave the city." Xue Lin imdiately stopped her. How could he let the princess take the risk?
Ye Zhen was aware of the danger outside the city. The Huaijiang dical Bureau couldn't afford to lack personnel, but she was still worried about Huangfu Chen and the others.
Xue Lin imdiately said, “Your Highness, why not let this subordinate look for them first? If there's any news, this subordinate will report back imdiately. Please, Your Highness."
By evening, the water on the streets outside had reached knee level. More and more people were taking refuge in the city. These people were from the villages outside the city. In the beginning, the authorities would send people to settle them. However, with the increasing number of people, there was no place left to settle them in the city, so they simply ignored them.
Standing under the eaves of the dical bureau, Ye Zhen frowned as she looked took in the scene outside. The city was already full of water. One could imagine what the villages around the dam had beco. She was still very worried about her master and Imperial Physician Qi, hoping that they would return safely.
"Help, help!"
At this mont, Ye Zhen suddenly heard soone shouting for help.
It was a mother and son who had entered the city to seek refuge. The child looked to be seven or eight years old, but for so reason, he had fainted in his mother's arms and did not move.
"Quan Fu, go and bring that child over," Ye Zhen hastily ordered.
Xia Yaohua and Liu Yun were bandaging the people's wounds. The dical bureau had already taken in many people who had been injured in the process of escaping. Dai i and Quan Fu had also co to the dical bureau to help.
Quan Fu carried the child over. The mother cried as she shouted, “Save my child. Can soone save my son?"
"Put him on the bed," Ye Zhen said to Quan Fu, imdiately taking the child's pulse. She was a little shocked at the result. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. It was so hot! “Madam, when did your child get sick?"
"I don't know… I don't know…!" The woman shook her head while crying. "I've been taking care of my husband for the past few days. I just found out that my child is sick."
Ye Zhen checked the other parts of the child's body and had a bad premonition. “What's wrong with the child's father? Where is he?"
The woman cried and said, “I don't know either. A lot of people around the house are sick. I don't know when he got it. Imperial Physician Qi was coming to see him. This morning… In the morning, he didn't have any breath (died). I wanted to hold a funeral for him, but I didn't expect there would be a flood. I had no choice but to leave with my child."
Could it be that Imperial Physician Qi went to their village for a dical visit? This illness didn't seem easy to treat.
"Sister Xia, does the dical bureau have a separate room?" Ye Zhen whispered to Xia Yaohua.
"Only the store is empty now. So of the other rooms have been filled with water, and so others have already been occupied," Xia Yaohua said.
Ye Zhen nodded slightly and said to Dai i, “Go and clean up and have this child stay in the store first. All of you put on your masks*."
[*Oh boy! This is where this author displays her uncanny prediction abilities. This book was completed before 2019, but the treatnt thod is exactly like the pandemic in 2020]
Xia Yaohua was also a doctor. At Ye Zhen's words, she imdiately understood that this little boy's illness was different from the others. It might be contagious.
"I'll prescribe the dicine first. All of you should be more vigilant," Ye Zhen warned. In her heart, she was worried that there were still many among those taken refuge in the city sick like the little boy. If they had the sa illness, the infection would probably spread even faster.
And the village that the woman ntioned, if… If her husband had died and they’d been too late in burying, now that he had been washed away by the flood, who knew where the corpse would be.
It wasn't until nightfall that Xue Lin returned with Huangfu Chen and Qi Jin. Huangfu Chen's clothes were drenched while Qi Jin was unconscious. Her forehead was wrapped in white cloth stained with blood.
"Master, what happened to Imperial Physician Qi?" Ye Zhen hurriedly asked.
"When the embanknt broke, she was knocked over and hit a corner. She was almost washed away by the water," Huangfu Chen whispered.
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